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sotheresthisbook 's review for:
Lore of the Tides
by Analeigh Sbrana
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Genre: New Adult / Adult Romantic Fantasy
Spice: 3/5🌶️
The Catalog: FM, love triangle, slow burn romance, forced proximity, human x fae, bookish MCs, magical sea palace, he braids her hair, quest plot, “good girl,” queer normative world, themes of strength in humanity & hope
Lore of the Tides picks up immediately after the cliffhanger in book one.
Thoughts:
First, thank you HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I am heartbroken to say that I didn’t love this book the way I loved Lore of the Wilds. Book one was so darkly whimsical and enchanting, and while this book was fully of magic and adventure, I feel it was disjointed and unbalanced as a whole. My criticisms are all based in the structure, not the messages in the story. I think editing really failed this book, because the bones are very good.
1. What I Enjoyed:
“I am not free until we are all free.”
* I really loved the messages about strength in humanity, coming together, defeating oppression, and holding on to hope. It is not hard to see the parallels between this world and ours.
* I love the dark cottage core vibes of the world, the different enchanted elements, elemental magic, and various paranormal / fantasy creatures.
* Lore is a really great FMC and I adored her and her journey, overall. Seeing Black FMCs in fantasy is ALWAYS a good thing. Finndryl remains my fave. I won’t speak on Asher as to avoid any major spoilers.
* There were several very humorous passages that I quite enjoyed.
2. What I Didn’t Like;
* There is no balance between the two books in terms of pacing or plot load. Book one was decently balanced, with a pace that I enjoyed. It felt like a decent amount of action happened without being under or overwhelming. Book two was extremely unbalanced. The pacing was inconsistent, large chunks of the plot could have honestly been removed and the story would have worked. Large portions of the book were spent on things that didn’t need extensive explanations and not enough time on plot points and loose ends. There was also a lot of repetitive inner monologue.
* Many things that I was looking for closure on from book one felt like afterthoughts. Loose ends were hastily resolved with random, underwhelming conclusions[ember the fox, Syrelle ancestor, the skyglass, Lore’s friend Grey].
* The spice scenes are so inconsistent.Sometimes they are so vague that the author doesn’t even name body parts, other times they are more detailed and use words like “cum.” I think it would have worked better if the author had picked one style of writing sex scenes and stayed consistent. Certain things were overly repetitive, such as “good girl.”
* Random, out of the blue pet name that I didn’t think fit.
Odd dialogue during scenes that are meant to be sexy, such as: “You taste like marigolds and honey, honey,”
* Maybe I read into it more than I should have in book one, but the conclusion about the humans’ obsession with the sky, stars, and their skyglass Ziara, was so underwhelming.
* Lastly, the love triangle was ultimately unnecessary for the plot. I don’t mind love triangles, but I have to say, this one served little purpose. Lore and one of the MCs could have just as easily been best friends instead of lovers and the plot would have worked the same.
I am rating this 3 stars because ultimately I really loved book one and I genuinely believe that others will enjoy this book more than I did.
Spice: 3/5🌶️
The Catalog: FM, love triangle, slow burn romance, forced proximity, human x fae, bookish MCs, magical sea palace, he braids her hair, quest plot, “good girl,” queer normative world, themes of strength in humanity & hope
Lore of the Tides picks up immediately after the cliffhanger in book one.
Thoughts:
First, thank you HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I am heartbroken to say that I didn’t love this book the way I loved Lore of the Wilds. Book one was so darkly whimsical and enchanting, and while this book was fully of magic and adventure, I feel it was disjointed and unbalanced as a whole. My criticisms are all based in the structure, not the messages in the story. I think editing really failed this book, because the bones are very good.
1. What I Enjoyed:
“I am not free until we are all free.”
* I really loved the messages about strength in humanity, coming together, defeating oppression, and holding on to hope. It is not hard to see the parallels between this world and ours.
* I love the dark cottage core vibes of the world, the different enchanted elements, elemental magic, and various paranormal / fantasy creatures.
* Lore is a really great FMC and I adored her and her journey, overall. Seeing Black FMCs in fantasy is ALWAYS a good thing. Finndryl remains my fave. I won’t speak on Asher as to avoid any major spoilers.
* There were several very humorous passages that I quite enjoyed.
2. What I Didn’t Like;
* There is no balance between the two books in terms of pacing or plot load. Book one was decently balanced, with a pace that I enjoyed. It felt like a decent amount of action happened without being under or overwhelming. Book two was extremely unbalanced. The pacing was inconsistent, large chunks of the plot could have honestly been removed and the story would have worked. Large portions of the book were spent on things that didn’t need extensive explanations and not enough time on plot points and loose ends. There was also a lot of repetitive inner monologue.
* Many things that I was looking for closure on from book one felt like afterthoughts. Loose ends were hastily resolved with random, underwhelming conclusions
* The spice scenes are so inconsistent.
* Random, out of the blue pet name that I didn’t think fit.
Odd dialogue during scenes that are meant to be sexy, such as: “You taste like marigolds and honey, honey,”
* Maybe I read into it more than I should have in book one, but the conclusion about the humans’ obsession with the sky, stars, and their skyglass Ziara, was so underwhelming.
* Lastly, the love triangle was ultimately unnecessary for the plot. I don’t mind love triangles, but I have to say, this one served little purpose. Lore and one of the MCs could have just as easily been best friends instead of lovers and the plot would have worked the same.
I am rating this 3 stars because ultimately I really loved book one and I genuinely believe that others will enjoy this book more than I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism